Waiting...
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: October 7, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
11
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Lots of people will leave screenings of this movie in disgust -- and laughter is the last thing they will hear on the way out. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
You'll laugh and hate yourself for it. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The young cast members, including Justin Long and Ryan Reynolds, are often spirited and funny, and restaurantgoers are left with a valuable lesson. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Many of the dilemmas that are established never pay off, and there is no clear protagonist or antagonist. To make matters even murkier, the movie is poorly shot in visually uninteresting locations with constant soft focus. That said, it's also damn funny. Read full review
60
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Waiting… is only intermittently funny, but when it is, it's hilarious. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
For every gag that flies there are at least one-and-a-half that don't. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyTina-Louise Reid
McKittrick cites "Dazed and Confused" as well as "Clerks" as influences, yet he lacks the raw edge of early Smith and the existential drift of Linklater. And if side-splitting laughter is what you crave, Waiting . . . will leave you hungry for a slice of American Pie. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDarren Reidy
A day in the life at chain restaurant Shenanigan's, Waiting . . . makes a predictable pit stop to elaborately mess with a creep patron's food but otherwise exceeds expectations by handling the real, soul-sucking fears of the double shift. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
With its sweet stupidity and shoddy production values, Waiting... knowingly evokes bad '80s R-rated comedies, but the differences are telling. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Don't watch this film unless you have a high tolerance and an undemanding appreciation for penis jokes and humor based more on a capacity to disgust than to surprise. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
There's real potential in the premise of young, unmotivated screw-ups logging time at a dead-end restaurant job--a hash-slinging "Office Space," basically--but first-time writer-director Rob McKittrick makes it look like a homemade sitcom laced with profanity. Read full review
40
VarietyDennis Harvey
The wait for laughs lasts the entire length of Waiting ..., first feature from writer-director Rob McKittrick that aims to be a "Clerks"-type comedy set in a chain restaurant but ends up somewhere below a "Porky's" sequel. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Doesn't serve up enough laughs to build a theatrical following but could find life on video as a takeout item. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
The filmmaker captures a certain exaggerated verisimilitude, but the comedy is surprisingly flat. The cast sells the occasional one-liner, but a Reynolds smirk can take you only so far. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
There must be humor here somewhere. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Teenage boys will be in heaven. All others: Check, please. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
The movie is a clumsy and uninspired mess, which is not to say that it's not funny. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
It's a great premise for comedy, but this thing is too dumb to do it justice. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
This warmed-over slop feels as if it's been congealing for twice that long. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Could have been a funny movie. There are a few truths about food-service that McKittrick gets right but doesn't fully exploit. Read full review
25
USA TodayMike Clark
Geared to 16-year-olds who can't name the governor of their state, this movie ought to be closed down by the health department. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Those endless end credits reveal that McKittrick previously worked at Steak & Ale, Roadhouse Grill and Friday's. He may well need to return to his line of work after a debut as dismal as this one. Read full review
20
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It's lewd, crude and socially irredeemable. Read full review
0
PremiereSara Brady
Waiting is, at its root, a heaping handful of almost-funny ideas cobbled together without much skill for shaping a story. The result is that one in five provokes a smile, while the other four make the viewers slightly sick that they now have to remember what they just saw. Read full review
0
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Putrid comic stew. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Never aims higher than the urinal. Read full review
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